Overseas Chinese Hotel Xining

... the top of the list of 'most useless towns so far in China'. The prize, currently, goes to one in Xinjiang, where the town was just a sign. That was it. There was a sign, and just desert. Sweet nothing at all.

I feel I should mention this somewhat unexpected journey into the mountains. Wanting a break from the long vistas of peasant farming, as well as a somewhat different route to Xining, over the hills it was. However, the map only marked one pass (the ...

Once we got our permit and train tickets, the 4 of us went by bus to Chengdu North train station.
We have been waiting for 10 days to be able to take this train! (no Tibetan permit = no train to Lhasa).
In front of the station, as we were walking fast to go pass immigration, I see Nishi looking at his jacket's pockets, a bit worried. Then he tells us he probably lost his wallet.. in the bus. The wallet contains cash, a visa card and the train ticket... After searching ...

Viimeisenä päivänä Xianissa lähdimme Hua Shanille, joka on yksi taoismin viidestä pyhästä vuoresta. Alkuperäisenä tarkoituksena oli patikoida ylös vuorelle ja samalla kohottaa kuntoa ennen Tiibetiä. Aikataulullisista syistä jouduimme turvautumaan köysirataan, jotta ehtisimme nähdä alueesta mahdollisimman paljon ennen lentoa Xiningiin. Hua Shan osoittautui odotettua jylhemmäksi kalliomuodostelmaksi. Valitettavasti my ...

We didn't have too much time to spend in Xining as we arrived around 1 am due to the late flight, had a meeting with our travel agency at 9 am and our train departed at 11.30. So we didn't actually see anything in Xining, though it didn't actually matter as we were already looking forward to taking the train to Lhasa. In fact, I ...

Sorry for the silence. Jessica and I have been super busy but the past few weeks have been quite a learning adventure. Our hosts have been warm and friendly and we have seen lots of places, met lots of people, and learned about Tibetan medicine which incorporates prevention concepts innclduing nutrition! Today, we met a group of medical students from the States including from Standford (Laura: I told him to find you when he does his Peds rotation).
Xining, Qinghai, China maywang

... cuts of yak meat, and yak yogurt, which is unbelievably
delicious (still waiting to try the Yak Butter Tea), also cow stomach,
and skin (I know, right?). Yummy Hot Pot (Chinese 'fondue') and tons of
homemade shaved noodles (one of my favorite aspects of Chinese
cuisine). I digress, I could talk about food forever.


We have done some great sightseeing, a lot of which is unique to
this region, because of the high ...

... sleeping bag (damn another thing to carry...). I had also worn holes in my walking boots (already!) and because they were no longer waterproof I had to replace those while I could. I'd need both these things if I wanted to do any trekking in Nepal so the investment was important. To complete my shopping trip I picked up the cheapest phone I could get to replace the one I left in Moscow - contact me if you want the number.

Today we woke up really early to head from the lake to our Tibetan home stay. We had a small Chinese breakfast. The food reminded me of my home stay families breakfast when my host mom cooked. After that we got on the bus and started driving towards the village. Around noon we stopped for lunch at another small family restaurant. This was fun because a few other girls and I sat on one of the family kangs. The food was also really good. After lunch ...

... our guide dutifully. We did manage a diversion down a side street full of stalls which turned out to all sell shoes! We were then taken to the local Muslim food market which was really interesting. Everything from fruit and nuts to fresh meat and Yak butter was on sale here. They also love cakes and biscuits so there were lots of bakery stalls. One delicacy that we watched being ...

... that, it's out of the qn. i.e.: No Everest!!! :''( *cries* well... there goes my possibly only chance to get to the highest point on earth. pfffft. i guess if i REALLY want to fulfil the Everest obsession, i'll have to go with Alex in November via Nepal. hmmmmmm (( AAARRGHHHH!!!!!!!!! THE DOG IS SMELLING ME RIGHT NOW!!!! help help help help help help help i can't take a shower and ...